Tom's Town Distillery Co

Every city has a founding myth. Kansas City's runs through Tom Pendergast, the political boss who kept the taps open all through Prohibition and answered the question of how he justified it with four words: "The people are thirsty." Tom's Town Distilling Co. took that line as a mission statement. Opened at 1701 Main Street in the Crossroads Arts District, it is downtown Kansas City's first legal distillery since Prohibition, and it wears the city's most notorious chapter proudly on every label.

History & Heritage

Tom's Town was founded in 2015 by Kansas City natives Steve Revare and David Epstein, and its origin story is almost too good to be invented. Revare's great uncle was Maurice Milligan, the United States Attorney who prosecuted Pendergast and sent him to prison. Epstein's grandfather was Herman Epstein, a bootlegger who ran a rival operation during the Pendergast years. Two families that once stood on opposite sides of Kansas City's liquor wars came together, three generations later, to make spirits legally a few blocks from where Pendergast kept his office at 1908 Main Street. The distillery opened its doors to the public in January 2016 and quickly gathered recognition, including USA Today naming it the Best Craft Vodka Distillery in the country in 2017.

The Whiskey

The house portfolio spans bourbon, straight rye whiskey, gin, and vodka, with a particular emphasis on cask finishing. Pendergast's Royal Gold Bourbon, the flagship, revives the actual brand name Pendergast trademarked when he procured and bottled bourbon for a thirsty city; today's version is finished in 14-year-old ruby port casks. Tom's Town Double Oaked Bourbon takes a second turn in oak for layered notes of maple, butterscotch, and honey. The Limited Reserve Program extends that finishing instinct into hand-selected barrels, and The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library reflects its range: Tom's Town Bourbon Whiskey Pinot Noir Barrel Finished Limited Reserve and Tom's Town Limited Reserve 5 Year Bourbon Finished in Rum Barrels sit alongside the standing lineup. The gin program deserves equal billing, with three distinct expressions: Tom's Town Botanical Gin, Tom's Town Barreled Gin, and Tom's Town Garden Party Gin. A line of canned cocktails and the limited edition Pendergast Machine Series, named for the political organization that ran the city, round out the portfolio.

Why It Matters

For those who appreciate good whiskey, Tom's Town is the hometown producer that treats Kansas City history as raw material rather than window dressing. The finishing program gives its bourbons a distinct point of view, and the Pendergast story connects every pour to the same streets where Independence's own Harry Truman got his political start in the Pendergast machine. The Sentinel Room keeps 14 Tom's Town expressions in its Reserve Whiskey Library, a fitting depth for a producer working roughly ten miles down the road.

Visiting the Distillery

Tom's Town operates a restaurant and tasting room in its historic Main Street building, serving craft cocktails built on the house spirits in a tasting room more than 110 years old. Distillery tours and cocktail classes can be booked through the website, and the building also hosts private events, including a large second-floor event space and the smaller speakeasy-style Pendergast Lounge.